Swedish design and technology company STILFOLD has today announced a new partnership with air mobility company Kookiejar, which will see STILFOLD produce modules for Kookiejar’s vertiports using its sustainable “industrial origami” manufacturing technology.
STILFOLD is already revolutionising urban mobility: at daughter company STILRIDE, the team has created a sustainable lightweight electric motorcycle made almost entirely from recycled steel. The team is also working with Polestar to build the world’s first climate-neutral car.
Now, STILFOLD will work with Kookiejar to make advanced air mobility even greener, by drawing on its green manufacturing expertise to build the foundation of Kookiejar’s advanced drone landing platforms, or “vertiports”.
Sweden-based Kookiejar is creating a scalable vertiport network that will enable goods (and eventually people) to be moved sustainably and efficiently around cities using drones. Drones have a critical role to play in the future of deliveries in urban and rural environments: the number of drone delivery units in operation is expected to grow by 84% in the U.S. alone by 2024.
Through the STILFOLD collaboration, Kookiejar aims to create a scalable and environmentally-friendly production solution for its vertiports. The new vertiport foundation will be built by folding steel plates using STILFOLD’s origami-inspired manufacturing technology. The tech, dubbed “industrial origami”, involves the use of robotic arms to fold flat sheet metal over curves to form strong and sustainable new structures, using minimal component parts.
Jonas Nyvang, CEO and co-founder at STILFOLD, comments –
“This partnership with Kookiejar is further proof that our manufacturing technology provides entirely new opportunities across virtually all types of manufacturing industries. We see a range of exciting benefits for the aviation industry as a whole. Being able to take a leading position in future transportation through drones is another significant advantage we eagerly anticipate and we can’t wait to start building with the Kookiejar team.”
Max Hoffman, Head of Strategic Projects at Kookiejar, comments –
“KookieJar is establishing a network of transportation hubs for cost-effective and environmentally sustainable aerial deliveries and passenger services. Autonomous drone and VTOL takeoff and landing platforms (aka vertiports) are a vital component in automating and facilitating drone deliveries and air taxi services on a large scale while ensuring safety and functionality.
“Together with STILFOLD, we can find even more efficient ways to achieve our goals, build our vertiports, whilst streamlining our production processes and reducing our environmental impact.”
Kookiejar aims to have its network in operation by 2024. Already, Kookiejar has secured multiple pilot sites in Europe and the Middle East; and has established partnerships with Airqual Technologies, ADB Safegate, JetPak, Aerit, Oilchain and Flying Basket to enable its network operations and pilot projects.
About STILFOLD
STILFOLD is a design and technology company based in Stockholm, Sweden. STILFOLD is the parent company of STILRIDE: the startup building lightweight electromobility products using the STILFOLD technology.
STILFOLD’s patented “industrial origami” technology involves the use of robots to build complex structures by folding flat sheet metal. This method enables efficient and sustainable manufacturing, leveraging computational design and advanced robotics.
About Kookiejar
Kookiejar is a Vertiport company based in Norrköping and Stockholm, Sweden having offices in Dubai and Monaco. Urban air mobility relies on infrastructure within the lower air space as well as accessible start and landing spots – Vertiports. Kookiejar draws upon cutting-edge expertise in both ground and air infrastructure. Together with key partners we provide a unique combination to the global air mobility ecosystem. The Kookiekar vertiport network is designed to be a smart, flexible, and adaptable solution in moving more people and goods sustainably and efficiently.
